Cyclic Materials, Lime partner to recycle electric motors from US, Canadian micromobility fleet 

Ontario-based rare earths recycler Cyclic Materials and Lime, the world’s largest provider of shared micromobility electric vehicles, announced Tuesday an agreement to recycle magnets from retired electric motors powering e-bikes and e-scooters across Canada and the United States.  

The agreement marks the first at-scale recycling initiative focused on rare earth magnets in North America in the micromobility sector, the companies said. Cyclic will become Lime’s preferred recycler for rare earth magnets in North America, processing materials from over 90,000 vehicles annually, with an expected minimum of 500 tonnes of material per year. 

Under the new partnership, Cyclic will recover rare-earth materials from decommissioned motors from vehicles in Lime’s US and Canadian markets. Lime currently has a fleet of more than 270,000 EVs.  

The agreement will be serviced primarily through Cyclic’s recently announced Mesa, Arizona facility as well as its Kingston, Ontario location, bringing scalable and sustainable rare-earth recycling to one of the fastest-growing clean transportation segments.  

Less than 1% of rare earth magnets are recycled globally, leaving an ‘above-ground mine’ of over 43,000 metric tonnes of end-of-life NdFeB magnets expected in the US alone by 2035, according to Adamas Intelligence. 

Together Cyclic and Lime said they are addressing this challenge by leveraging Cyclic Materials’ MagCycle and REEPure technologies to recover rare earth magnets from end-of-life vehicles.  

This collaboration unlocks a critical, untapped resource and establishes a new benchmark for circularity in clean mobility, the companies said. 

  “This partnership sets a powerful precedent for how innovative companies can close critical loops in the clean energy supply chain through the recycling of the permanent magnets that power modern mobility,” Cyclic Materials CEO Ahmad Ghahreman said in a news release.  

“We are proud to support Lime’s bold net-zero and sustainability goals, while helping build a future where materials are recycled and reused, sustaining a more resilient supply of rare earth elements across the industry.” 

The companies said they plan to begin operations in the coming weeks, with initial shipments already planned while activities are expected to ramp up throughout 2025.